Without flying-foxes we would not have our eucalypt forests and rainforests. Wildlife Health Australia has further advice about handling bats. All cases of Hendra including suspected cases of illness must be reported to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on New Hendra virus genotype A second genotype of Hendra virus was reported in Australia in Notifiable disease Hendra virus is a notifiable disease in Australia. Signs have included: fever increased heart rate difficulty or rapid breathing depression weakness.
Neurological signs such as: uncoordinated gait head tilt muscle twitching apparent vision loss aimless walking. Protecting your horses from Hendra virus Hendra disease has not yet been detected in Victoria, but precautions should always be taken in areas where there are flying fox populations in close proximity with horses. You can also minimise the risks by: removing horse feed and water containers from under trees where flying foxes may be roosting or feeding early isolation of a sick horse whilst awaiting veterinary attention good hygiene and cleaning practices isolate new horses to your property.
Carefully monitor their health and report any signs of illness early. Vaccinating horses against Hendra virus There is an effective vaccine to protect horses against Hendra virus that is available through vets. Your horse is confirmed positive to Hendra virus If your horse tests positive to Hendra virus we will work with you and your local vet to manage the situation.
Human exposure to Hendra virus Agriculture Victoria works closely with the Department of Health whenever Hendra virus is confirmed or strongly suspected and there is reason to believe humans are at risk of exposure to the virus. The symptoms of infection in a person can include: fever headache dry cough sore throat breathing difficulties dizziness unusual sleepiness and confusion.
People at increased risk of infection include: vets farriers equine dentists strappers feed delivery merchants horse owners stud workers. Treatment Currently there is no cure or specific treatment for infection with Hendra virus. How to reduce the risk of human infection Hendra virus is a public health concern and requires careful management.
There are several steps you should take while you are waiting for veterinary confirmation: Avoid close contact with infected horses and other horses that have been in contact with them. Isolate the suspected horse and relocate your other animals.
Observe the infected horse from a distance and notify your vet if you notice changes in their condition. If you must have close contact with the infected horse take the following precautions: If you have any cuts or abrasions, ensure they are covered with a water-resistant dressing.
Australian team vet Nathan Anthony adds that, "all equine hospitals in QLD are now restricting access of certain sick and some colic cases in unvaccinated horses and as of 1 January all of the major insurance companies have implemented a Hendra exclusion, that means that if there are delays in life saving treatment due to lack of proof of vaccination, then the policy will not pay out for mortality.
These veterinary care restrictions have led to some people accusing vets of only wanting to make money from the administration of the vaccine. Other people are scathing that some vets are overly cautious and refuse to treat horses purely because "four people have died.
So why should they put their lives at risk when a vaccine is available? To gain some more understanding I talked with vet Tim Myers, who grew up in central NSW and was a practicing vet in the area for ten years.
As he is no longer practising there, he has no financial interest or political gain from the Hendra vaccine. He adds that one could never guarantee that a horse is safe from Hendra anywhere until we learn more about the disease and its transmission. At the moment one can only identify low and high risk areas. Tim agrees that the vaccine has is drawbacks, mainly that it needs to be given every 6 months by an accredited vet so this becomes costly, but adds that the side-effect, which it rarely causes, are vaccine site reactions which are "very much the same for any equine vaccine.
Tim says that as the majority of these reports involved injection site swelling and such side affects are the standard risk involved with any injection in a horse. Given the adverse event rate stands at approximately 0. Firstly the vaccine has been granted a minor—use-permit from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority APVMA to allow it to conduct widespread field trials, further establishing the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
Under this permit the vaccine is only allowed to be administered by registered veterinary surgeons, who are required to complete an online training and accreditation package. Australian team vet Nathan Anthony debunks this. Nathan added that it was the lack of known duration of immunity that was the reason that the vaccine could not be fully registered from the start.
There seems to be much written about the instructions that the first two doses must be given exactly 21 days apart, but it is actually weeks apart which gives normal leeway. Vaccination, however, still leads to a positive Hendra antibody test reading and a DIVA Differentiate infected versus vaccinated animals test is not yet available.
Many of Australia's top dressage riders are speaking out against the implementation of mandatory vaccination laws. I am not concerned that my horses will get the virus at a show because there are no cases EVER of any horses passing on the virus at any show or race meeting. Hanna explained that horse racing, one of Australia's largest industries, refuses to make vaccination mandatory. The DPI who represents the government on these types of issues also do not see a reason to make vaccination mandatory.
Australian WEG team rider Maree Tomkinson is also against the vaccination, not only for the welfare of her horses, but because she feels if it becomes mandatory she will be unable to remain an Australian based international rider with aspirations to continue representing her country abroad. At the same time, I am not in a financial position to relocate my entire team to Europe or America so I am not sure where that leaves us at this point," Tomkinson stated.
There are many others in the Australian horse community who agree with Mary and Maree, and are very concerned about the level of safety of this vaccine.
Daphne Nimmons-Marvin from Victoria wrote directly to company Zoetis after swelling and stiffness at the reaction site made it impossible for her Prix St Georges horse to put his head down or eat. As a precaution, standard, contact and droplet precautions, and airborne precautions for aerosol-generating procedures [ 13 ] , should be implemented for management of suspected or confirmed human cases.
There is no evidence of person-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus [ 14 ]. However, it is recommended that suspected human cases avoid close contact with horses until the diagnosis has been clarified and a case confirmed, until the possibly-human infectious period has passed. Disease has been induced under experimental conditions in cats, ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs, horses and pigs.
Experimentally-infected horses can excrete viral RNA in nasal secretions from three-five days before showing clinical signs of disease [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. This underpins recommendations that any procedures on apparently healthy horses that may cause aerosolisation or splashes, should be performed with appropriate infection control precautions including PPE.
See section 9. Case management - Isolation and restriction for definitions of aerosols and droplets. Two dogs on properties with Hendra virus-infected horses have shown evidence of Hendra virus infection. The first antibody positive dog was identified in July on a property in Queensland where three horses developed Hendra virus infection.
The second dog was identified in July on a NSW property where one horse had developed Hendra virus infection. Although the source of exposure for the dogs cannot be definitively ascertained, horse-to-dog transmission is the most plausible scenario given that both dogs had potential opportunity for exposure to infected horses.
There is no evidence that bat-to-dog. Horses are considered to be the animal most associated with transmission due to their ability to amplify the virus. However, animal health experts believe dogs to be a potential transmission risk refer to Draft V 4. Updated statistics on Hendra virus incidents, including locations, dates and confirmed horse cases, may be found on the Queensland Government website.
Hendra virus infection symptoms in humans have developed between five to 21 days after exposure to an infectious horse. The incubation period in horses appears to be three-6 days, although the incubation period in one horse in the Bowen event may have been 31 days personal communication, Steven Donohue [Queensland Health] and Hume Field [Biosecurity Queensland], November The potential infectious period in humans is unknown, as no evidence exists of person-to-person transmission to date.
While the risk of transmission is probably negligible, for public health purposes, human cases should be considered potentially infectious while symptomatic. Most transmission of Hendra virus to humans has occurred during contact after the infected horse had developed clinical signs of Hendra virus illness. For human public health trace-back purposes, horses should be considered potentially infectious from 72 hours prior to the onset of clinical signs of disease.
Careful assessment is required of how closely the horse was observed for the onset of illness. Viral genetic material has been detected by PCR in experimentally-infected horses three-five days before the onset of symptoms [ 8 , 16 , 17 ]. In this experimental study, the virus challenge was administered oronasally to three horses and viral genetic material was then identified in nasal swabs from each of the horses from two days post challenge.
In the Redlands outbreak related to two humans, high-risk exposures daily nasal cavity lavage occurred during the last three days of the incubation period for one of the infected horses [ 11 ]. Given the theoretical potential for virus transmission beyond 72 hours prior to illness onset in the horse, individuals with specific medium-to-high or high-level exposure events see Appendix 4: Exposure assessment form in the hours prior to the horse becoming sick, should be identified.
Specifically, an invasive oral or respiratory tract procedure on the horse such as dental work and nasal endoscopy, without the use of appropriate use of infection control procedures including PPE. Detailed accounts of the specific exposures should be obtained and the significance of these exposures then considered by an expert panel. Further detail on these seven cases is included in Appendix 1.
No cases of asymptomatic infection have been identified from extensive testing of human contacts associated with Hendra virus events up to July In horses, Hendra virus has a clear predisposition for targeting endothelial cells of blood vessels, with clinical signs dependent on the sequence in which organs are affected. Documented equine cases to date have typically presented with acute onset of clinical signs, including increased body temperature and increased heart rate, and rapid progression to death associated with either respiratory or neurological signs or a mix of these.
Some horses have also shown evidence of multi-organ involvement. The clinical signs, particularly of early Hendra virus infection, may be non-specific, although progression from onset to death is typically rapid, occurring over a couple of days. Less severe infections have been identified in horses being monitored during an outbreak; these horses are typically second or third-generation cases.
Those that survive often have mild signs and seroconvert during the recovery period. In past incidents, all horses that have tested positive for Hendra virus have been euthanised [ 8 ]. People who are more likely to be exposed to infected horses may be at increased risk, e. All events since Hendra virus infection was first identified in have occurred in Queensland or New South Wales. However, given the distribution of flying foxes Figure 1 and frequency of horse movements among states and territories, cases could occur anywhere in Australia.
Horse owners and carers can take steps to protect horses from becoming infected with Hendra virus by reducing exposure to flying foxes, e.
A third horse was put down. Colleagues distressed Meanwhile colleagues of a man who was infected with the potentially fatal virus say they are distressed that he has had to be hospitalised for a second time. Hendra virus worker doing well: Qld Health.
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